Number
by DemonFireFox
Summary: On a mission Nightwing is injured which carry some strange results. It is up to the team to care for Richard while he is out of comission. Major Fluff warning
1. Chapter 1

I was at the mountain when it happened.

I was meant to be out on the mission with the others but Nightwing took my place when he got Intel that the villains had kryptonite on them. So here I was on a Friday night sitting at the mountain watching my favorite TV show: static. Well I was doing that until I heard the BioShip return. Getting up from my spot I walked over to the landing bay only to see mass chaos in front of me.

Cassie was crying while flying all over the place. Jamie was trying to calm down a crying Bart who was muttering words like 'shot' and 'not now'. Lagoon Boy was standing behind Megan who was using her powers to lift Robin off a stretcher and fly him down to med bay. _Wait Robin? Robin didn't go on the mission. _Taking a closer look I saw it was not Tim who was being carried it was Dick.

"What happened?" I demanded.

Megan looked up to me with tears in her eyes, but it looked like she was refusing to let them fall. She used her powers to send Dick into my arms. I accepted him with ease, turning my body to walk all the way to the medical bay. As expected the team followed me.

It was strange to see Dick look like a thirteen year old again. I had finally gotten used to him being Nightwing and as tall as me, and now all of the sudden he was back to the small frame and innocent face again. I couldn't even begin to imagine what it is that could have caused this…that was when I realized I never did get that information that I had asked for. Oh well now wasn't the time to fret about that. At this moment it was my job to take care of Dick, so I set him down on the first bed that I saw. I removed his tunic and saw there was a small wound on his chest. It didn't look like a bullet wound, it was more like a small lightning bolt had hit him.

After I had finished cleaning the injury and hooking him up to all of the usual monitors I turned toward the rest of the team. "Would anyone care to explain to me why Nightwing is now Robin?" Everyone besides Megan took a step back, as if it was to elect her to speak for them.

"Klarion was there. Nightwing was about to take down Ra's A Ghul when Klarion shot him with a red lightning bolt. It was strange; Ra's turned to the witch boy and yelled at him for doing that to Nightwing. Something about an agreement not to harm him. After that Nightwing rose to his feet and continued to fight even though he was in pain, you would have been proud of him Connor. He managed to take down one Ra's but then Klarion opened a portal allowing the light to escape. We were going to pursue but Nightwing fell to the ground and moaned in pain while holding his chest. I made the call to end the mission and bring him back to the mountain." I nodded in understanding and looked back to Dick. He didn't look like he was in pain currently, but then again Dick was always good at concealing his pain.

"I would tell you to inform Batman, but with him being off world that sort of defeats the purpose of informing him." I hated it whenever Dick got hurt. Everyone thought that it was because I didn't like to make decisions for him while he was 'out of order' as Beast Boy liked to say. The real reason was I hated having to make decisions because most of the time that meant that I didn't get to spend time with Dick while he was recovering.

"What should we do Connor?" I looked into me ex-girlfriends eyes and my heart broke a little inside. Every time I look at her I regret leaving her, but that wasn't important now. Right now Dick needed my full attention, I had to take care of him.

"Fill out the reports that Nightwing usually has you complete and submit them to Mal. Megan I want you to call Dinah and tell her you will be submitting your report to her. When she reads it and inevitably comes here then we will go from there." They all looked at me and nodded. "Dismissed." They all left one by one.

"Wow looks like you have everything handled. I guess I can now be comfortable enough to cash in my vacation days." I turned to see a small thirteen year old beaming at me with a pearly white smile.

"That isn't even funny." I went and sat next to him on the bed.

"Really? I thought that it was very amusing." I let a small smile find its way on my face; it was mostly because now I knew that Dick was at least safe. He tried to get up but his injury stopped him. He brought his hand to his chest in pain but then realized that something was off. Brining his hand up into the air he inspected the size. "Connor…what happened to me?" It seems that he also noticed that his voice no longer as deep as it used to be.

I put my hand on his cheek and gave him an encouraging smile. "Everything is going to be okay, I promise."

"That doesn't answer my question." I hadn't heard Dick sound this worried in years. I had to remind myself that I was only looking at a spell, that this wasn't permanent. Although a part of me wished it was. That part was the selfish big brother in me though that only wanted to protect his baby bird.

"Klarion the witch boy shot you with some sort of lightning bolt that had a charm on it. It appears to have turned you into a thirteen year old." Dick immediately moved his gaze away from me and towards an abandoned corner in the room. I reached out and pulled his face to look at me. I moved my hand up and peeled off his domino mask.

He had his eyes closed tight, as if they were trying to hold back tears. "Please open your eyes Dick." In response he closed them tighter. "Dick please I'm not going to judge you." Finally his baby blue eyes opened but as I predicted they were fighting off tears. "What's wrong?" I asked rather worried.

"Connor I'm a thirteen year old again! All of the Leaguers already treat me like a child but now…ugh there is no way anyone will take me seriously! If anything they are just going to treat me even more like a baby!" I pulled him into my arms and he rested his head on my chest.

"It is going to be okay Dick. I understand that you are upset but the team won't do that to you. Whether you are thirteen or nineteen it doesn't matter, you are still more brilliant than any other member. Not even Tim has as much experience as you or can hack into the Pentagon without being detected. "I felt successful when a small chuckle came from my chest. He pulled away only slightly.

"Thanks Connor. It means a lot especially since Wally isn't here." His eyes yet again drifted into the corner.

"He is missing out." I said. Dick looked up at me confused. "Don't get me wrong I love that him and Artemis are so happy together, but he shouldn't have left you like that." Dick smiled a little bit.

"He asked me for permission. He didn't ask Barry but he asked me. I thought that it was so cool of him to do that for me but I wish that I could have said no. Of course I wouldn't because that was just a nice way of him telling me that he was going but at least he even bothered breaking it to me that nicely. "I felt his head return to lying on my chest. "They told me it wasn't my fault that they were leaving, almost as if they were breaking it to me that they were divorcing the team. It sounds stupid but for the longest time I did blame myself. I thought that if I had somehow been a better friend then they would have never left."

"It wasn't your fault." I said stroking his hair. "You couldn't have done anything to stop it."

"I know that now, but it still hurts."

"What would Wally be doing right now that I am not?" I asked.

"Probably making fun of me as a means of trying to get me to laugh. But you don't have to do that, I like what you are doing just fine." I felt his little legs wrap around my waist and him burry his head further into my chest. "Thank you Connor. I know I am not helping the whole point of me still being an adult even though I am like well not an adult anymore but…"

"It is fine, I understand. I promise I won't tell. And tomorrow when the League comes to check you out we can explain to them that your objectivity has not changed and that we think you should remain the leader of the team." When I got no response I looked down to see a sleeping little Robin. His body was completely relaxed and his hold on me had release but his face was still leaning on me. "Alright baby bird. I guess it is time for bed."

It wasn't going to be as easy for me to get to sleep. When I exited the room I was greeted by several curious teammates. "Can I help you?" I asked looking towards Bart who seemed to be the most anxious of the group.

"How is he?" Bart whispered.

"He is sleeping currently but he is stable. I am sure he will recover just fine, the only concern we have now is the spell or whatever charm Klarion used during the battle." I wanted to walk away and leave them to their group but something in me was telling me that they needed me here for some reason. I think it was all of the times that Nightwing would make it a priority to spend time with the younger members when a mission went south.

"Are you going to tell Robin? Or Wally? When is the League going to come see him? What is going to happen to the team? Are you our new leader now?" It was a miracle that I understood what Bart was even saying he was talking so fast. I guess it is good that I had super hearing otherwise I probably wouldn't have caught any of what the boy had just said.

"Yes in a minute, I am going to talk to Megan about the Wally situation. The League will most likely come to evaluate Nightwing tomorrow, and we are going to recommend that he remain in charge of the team because due to the conversation I just had with him before he fell asleep he still has the consciousness of his nineteen year old self. So no, more than likely I will not be your new leader." I tried to answer all of his questions as best as I could. It was hard for me to answer everything without getting uncomfortable and wanting to leave. After all now that I think about it I don't really talk to any of them more then I actually have too.

"Connor can I talk to you?" I turned to see Megan standing by the threshold that lead into the rec room. She seemed apprehensive so I made my way over slowly. She guided me all the way to the kitchen and looked around several times to make sure that we were alone. "Who is going to call Wally and who is going to call Tim?"

"So basically I get one and you get the other?" She nodded. "Which one do you want?"

"I don't know. I feel like Wally will take it worse, but with Tim he bottles everything up inside. I don't know which one is going to be harder to deal with." She was looking to the ground and fighting off her own tears. I knew it was hard for her whenever Dick got hurt because both of them had become attached. It was almost as if Megan would practice her big sister skills on Dick and then use the ones that worked on Gar.

"I will take Wally, that way you don't have to deal with Artemis as well. And as long as you tell Tim that physically Nightwing is fine and his mental state is stable then he will handle it just fine." Megan smiled at me. It wasn't a fake one either, to me she was genuinely relieved that I was doing her this favor and she was truly grateful.

"Thank you Connor."

"You're welcome." She walked over to me and ever so gently placed a soft peck on my cheek.

"You're a great big brother you know that?" She asked as she pulled away from me.

"That is Wally not me. He has been Dick's big brother since he was like ten." I tried to walk away but Megan grabbed my hand.

"Who says that you can only have one big brother? Dick needs both of you but for different reasons. And right now he needs both of you, so get Wally to come back. I know I would feel a lot better if I knew that both of you were protecting him." With that Megan turned and left the kitchen.

_Who says you can only have one big brother?_

No one. And Megan was right, Dick needs us. He needs us to protect him even if he did see himself as the adult.

Dick needed me, and there was no way that I was turning my back on him. The only problem is now I have to make a very uncomfortable phone call.

"Computer call Kid Flash B-03."

**A/N: Just an idea that popped in my head. I hope it was worth the time. If I get a good response then most likely I will update it. **

**Oh and by the way I refuse to believe Wally is dead so therefore he is alive in my stories. **


	2. Chapter 2

It felt like Wally was never going to pick up; by the fourth ring I was ready to punch the wall next to me but thankfully on the next ring he decided to pick up. "Hello?"

"Wally it's me Connor." I said.

"Hey man what's up? Wait is this good news or bad? I can't remember if it is you or Megan who calls to tell me bad news. Please let this be good news." I really hated to disappoint him but I knew that lying wasn't an option.

"It isn't good." I say but I try to make my tone gentler for his benefit.

"Oh no what happened?" I could hear the groan in his voice and could tell that his mind was already racing with worry. "It is Dick isn't it?"

"He was hit by a charm and was turned into a thirteen year old version of himself. Mentally Dick is still nineteen but his physical state has completely changed. I thought you would want to be informed." My hearing could detect the shut of a door and heels clicking on the hardwood floors. It seemed that Wally was about to have to relay the news to Artemis.

"Are you kidding me? He is what?" Apparently Wally was too busy freaking out to even hear his girlfriend walk into the room. "I can't believe it! For how long?"

"We don't know yet. Megan submitted a report to Dinah and the League will most likely be visiting us tomorrow about it. My guess is they will bring Zatanna and Dr. Fate to make an estimate or undo it." Another groan followed and then murmurs, I pick up the words charm, Dick, kid, and league which meant that Wally was now telling Artemis what had happened.

"We will be there as soon as we can." With that Wally hung up the phone.

I walked into the kitchen of the Mountain knowing that is where I would find Megan. I saw her standing there holding herself in her arms. The conversation with Tim must not have gone well. "Megan." I called. She turned to me with a sad look in her eyes. "How did it go?" I asked.

"Not well." Megan sighed and looked up to me. "He tried to tell me that he was fine and that he would be here soon to check up on Dick but I could tell by the tone in his voice that he wasn't okay. He is worried for his brother, and I mean he is really worried for him. It is as if he fears something about the situation."

"It is probably just the responsibility that he is afraid of. With Batman off world and now Dick being in this condition, Tim is just feeling the pressure. I'm sure he will be fine." I reached out for Megan's hand but she quickly moved and looked at me. "I'm sorry." I said and looked away.

"No I should be sorry. You were right Connor, what I was doing was wrong. I should have never used my powers in such a way, and when Nightwing is back to normal I will tell him what I did and let him decide what should be done." There were tears once again in her eyes but this time she had a smile on her face, and this one I could tell was real. "I am sorry for trying to change your mind about it. It was completely wrong of me to take advantage of you like that." Megan started to walk as if she was going to leave the room but I grabbed her arm and turned her around. There was no fear in her eyes, but there was guilt. I don't really know what came over me but in a moment my lips had found hers. Her lips were wet with tears but I didn't care. All that mattered to me was that she was with me and no one else.

When we parted I smiled down at her. "Does that mean I am forgiven?" She asked.

"Megan I forgave you before you were even sorry for it." She smiled and kissed me again.

"Thank you Connor."

"You're welcome." We stood there for a few more minutes until I pulled us a part. "You don't have to tell Nightwing."

"Connor yes I do. I did it while on the team so the leader of the team deserves to know what happened. And anyways I'm not a Bat so I am not good at keeping secrets like this." I laughed at her joke, not because it was funny but because it was a sign of light in the dark cloud that had enveloped the team as of late.

_Recognized Kid Flash B-03 Artemis B-06 Robin B-20_

"They are here." I said. Megan nodded and we made our way toward the zeta tubes.

We walked into what looked like utter chaos. Jamie and Bart had been cornered by Robin, who was demanding answers on the details of the mission. I could detect the slightest hint of tears remaining on the cheeks of the young fourteen year old. It was obvious how much he admired his older brother, but it was also funny how hard he tried to hide it. To the other young members of the team Robin was not affectionate toward his brother, but I can see the way he looks at Dick and how he smiles whenever Dick would place a proud hand on his shoulder or give him a compliment. "Dude I am sorry but that is all I know. If you want more details you are going to have to talk to someone who was actually in the room to witness it." Jamie had his hands up in a sign of surrender.

"Robin calm down everything is alright." I placed my hand on his shoulder just as I had seen Dick do on a number of occasions. Unlike those times though Tim noticeably stiffened.

"Alright? Nightwing was reduced to a thirteen year old boy and you are expecting me to believe that everything is alright. That is a load of bullshit!" Anger was radiating off of Robin. I have never seen him this angry before.

"Robin!" I turned to see a very outraged Artemis. "You apologize now for that language. Your brother and father would be ashamed you talked to any team member in that way. I don't care what the situation is you will never speak to someone like that again." Tim lowered his head in shame. "I understand you are worried for Nightwing, but that does not give you an excuse to lash out on the people that are trying to help him. I love your brother just as much as you do, I understand your pain but we need to remain calm and allow for a more positive atmosphere. Pessimism and anger are not going to help anyone." I could see the mask on Robin constrict in a way that showed he was still mad. Usually the boy would not object to being lectured because he was so humble but at this moment he was different. Right now he was a very protective and very angry bat.

"What gives you the right to say that you love my brother as much as I do? You have no idea what I have been through with him! And I don't care what you think right now! All I care about is the fact that my brother has been cursed! And who are you to tell me what to do? You are not a member of our family. You left him! So don't go lecturing me about my brother, because if anything I know him better then you do! And I know that he needs me right now, so if you excuse me I am going to see him now." Tim turned to me. "Where is he?"

"Medical bay but right now he is sleeping." Robin looked at me as if he didn't care. "You and I both know how light of a sleeper your brother is, if you even enter that room he will wake up and lose sleep that could help him recover faster."

"Fine I will wait for him to wake up." I nodded my head in thanks.

"Good because we can use this time to talk." Robin turned to look at Wally. The redhead looked less than pleased, probably due to how Robin had just addressed his girlfriend.

"If you want me to apologize to Artemis you are wasting your breathe." I couldn't help but scoff, he just reminded me so much of his brother. If anyone ever made Dick mad he was never afraid to tell them what he really thought and then he would never apologize for it, because in his mind he would not say he was sorry for telling the truth.

"Don't encourage him Connor." Wall snapped.

"That is not why I laughed, he simply reminded me of his brother." Wally nodded in understanding and Tim looked back at me confused.

"Come on Robin, I want to talk to you." Wally started to walk away but Tim was not moving to follow him. I knew that this talk was important so I gave Robin a gentle nudge to follow. Robin looked back at me and his eyes expressed something that I had never seen in him before; he was afraid. As a way to calm him I put my hand on his back and walked with him. Robin knew that I would never allow for him to be hurt, but I found his fear of Wally to be completely irrational.

Wally walked all the way to the souvenir room that he started. When Robin and I entered he shut and locked the door. Robin turned to us and took of his mask and became Tim Drake. "Please sit down." Wally said.

"Not if you are going to stand." Tim said with a hint of defiance in his voice.

"What?" I could tell Wally was confused with the reaction.

"If you are going to stand then so am I. I am not going to let you make me feel dominated simply because I am sitting which makes you significantly taller than me." There was the fear again, only this time it was in his voice.

"Kid I am not trying to dominate you, I just know you must be emotionally exhausted and I wanted to offer you a way to rest. If you want me to sit then I will too." Wally walked over to a table and took a seat, I followed suit as a way to encourage Tim. It took a few moments of silence but he soon made his way over to us and took a seat on the next to me but opposite of Wally.

"What do you want to talk about?" Tim asked.

"I get that you are upset, and you are right we did leave Dick here while you stayed but I want you to understand how hard that was for us. We were not going to leave but Dick made us go. He knew how important starting over was for us, he knew better than us. We were willing to compromise what we wanted for him but your brother wouldn't hear of it. Tim, Artemis did not deserve to be talked to like that. She cares for Dick like her little brother and she worries about him just as much. I know you are hurting right now and that makes you more defensive, but please understand that Artemis and I are on your side. We want what is best for Dick too and will do anything to see him better again." Wally reached out and grabbed Tim's hand. "We love your brother Tim and we love you. I hate seeing you so upset, it kills me a little."

Tim swiped his hand away from Wally's. "Why should I care about what you feel? You still left and that hurt him. I could never do that to him! I never would, but you two did." Tim rose to his feet and was fighting off tears.

"Now listen to me Timothy, you are just making false claims with nothing to back them up. What Artemis and I did was not meant to hurt your brother. We love him and welcome him into our home anytime he comes over." Wally's tone turned sharper. I was going to cut in but I had a feeling that what he was about to say was rather important. "And I am tired of hearing that you love your brother more than I do, or that you know him better. I have known Dick since he was 11; he has been my brother much longer then he has been yours. I have been there for him for almost every anniversary. I have been his confidant, his protector, and I have been his comforter. So don't tell me what it means to love Richard. From where I am standing it is you who doesn't really know Dick."

"Just shut up!" Tim yelled at him with tears dripping from his eyes.

"No. If anyone needs to learn how to shut up it is you at the moment." Wally stood and walked over to Tim and forced the boy to look up at him by grabbing Tim's chin. "Where is the Timothy Drake that I know? Because right now the boy standing before me is a little brat who is angry because he didn't get his way." That was the last straw for Tim; he pushed Wally back into the table and ran from the room.

I stood from my place at the table and looked to Wally. "I will find him." I said.

"Connor?" I turned to look at the redhead before I left, "Did I go too far?" He asked.

"You told him the truth," Wally smiled only a little, "but it could have been handled better." He nodded in understanding and then I left. I knew exactly where he would be, it was the only place that he could feel close to his brother besides by his side. I kept walking until I reached Dick's bedroom door.

_Megan do me a favor and don't let anyone near Nightwing's room. _

_Sure, but why?_

_Tim and I are about to have a conversation and it might get loud. He currently has a temper and I don't want others to hear. _

_I understand. Do you want me to tell you if Dick wakes up?_

_Yes, thank you. _

With that over I sighed and then knocked on the door. This was going to rather difficult and none of it would be amusing.

Just great.

**A/N: Well there is the chapter. I know Tim was out of character but I wanted to explore what he may act like when he was cracking under the pressure of being one of the only Bats left standing and being worried for his older brother. **

**Please review and tell me what you think! I always want to know where you guys want me to go with the story!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So the dramatics of the last chapter was pointed out but I just want to say that there is a reason that Tim was like that in the last chapter. In my head Tim tries too hard to be the perfect Robin so he naturally falters, which probably frustrates him. But I also believe this behavior to be motivated by something and that is what I wanted to explore. **

My knocking was only met with silence, which is something I should have known would happen. There was no way I was going to be able to coax Tim into opening the door and talking to me, he was a bat after all. For some reason every member of that family had an issue when their feelings were ever brought into the light. It was a touchy subject that was really hard to bring up, especially with Tim.

Dick told me once that Tim was the most like Bruce when it came to talking about his emotions. He never told me why exactly but I knew that the factor was going to come into play now. "Tim open up." I said. I knew this wouldn't work either but at least the boy would know it was me. "If you don't open up I could always bust my way in, and then you will have to explain to your brother who is already stressed out why he does not have a door." Slowly I heard footsteps creep up to the door and then it opened. Tim moved to the side to let me in, once I had paced him he shut the door again and used his wrist computer to lock it.

"What do you want?" Tim hissed. "I don't feel like being yelled at anymore."

"I didn't come to yell at you." I said.

"Then why are you here?" The question almost stung but I remembered how exhausted the boy really was and blamed most of the venom on his lack of proper rest.

"I came to make sure that you were alright. Wally feels bad for yelling at you like that, he lost his temper and he regrets that." Tim walked over to the bed and took a seat. I sat next to him and we both stared at the wall. "But we both know he wasn't the only one at fault, you baited him after all."

"I don't know what you're talking about." He and I both knew that playing dumb wasn't going to work, but for some reason he was going to try it anyway.

"Saying that you could never hurt Dick the way that Wally and Artemis did, you knew that would strike a nerve. You knew that Wally would go off on you because you know how much he hates people questioning his love for his best friend. Everything that you said you had planned out in your head and you had planned the reaction as well." I turned to look him over and I saw that Tim's body had stiffened greatly. It was apparent that he did not enjoy being figured out and was trying to come up with a way out of this situation.

"You're right about me knowing he would yell…but I didn't know it would be so loud." Tim wrapped his arms around himself and took to whispering the last part of his words, but thanks to my hearing I caught it.

"Why were you afraid of Wally back there anyways?" I asked. Tim's head shot up and looked at me with surprise. "I may be a clone but I am not stupid. The way that your eyes looked, even when you had your mask on, conveyed fear. So what were you afraid of?" Tim shifted on the bed so he had his back to me.

"I don't want to talk about it." He said with a gruff sound to his voice.

"Too bad."

"Just leave me alone Connor, it isn't any of your business after all." I hated it when people did that. They made it sound as if the troubles they were going through only affected them so everyone else should just leave them alone about it. It was a stupid thought really, after all if the person you cared about was being emotionally affected by the problem than it should become your business because you are their friend. But I knew that logic wouldn't work on Tim, so I was forced to simply lie.

"Your brother asked me to take care of you before I left the room. That makes you my business and that also makes your behavior and what causes it to become my business. Now spill." I said.

"No." Tim's voice wasn't strong at all meaning that with enough pushing he would eventually give in.

"If you don't tell me then don't expect to be leaving this room anytime soon." Tim looked up to me with some shock.

"So you are basically putting me in time out until I tell you what you want?" He asked.

"Pretty much, so just make it easier on yourself and just tell me what is wrong." I knew that the boy was a bat and therefore stubborn, but I had an ace in the hole. "Megan is going to tell me when Dick wakes up, but if you don't tell me then you can't leave to go see him."

"You can't keep me from my brother!" Tim yelled

"I can and I will." Tim was studying my face so I didn't allow it to soften in any way. I had to convince him that his only way out was to talk to me, I couldn't let his mind wonder and come up with ways he could escape me.

"Fine! You win. Are you happy now?" Tim asked.

"Tell me." I couldn't afford to veer off my goal with this kid; with my luck he would get me so far off topic I would open the door for him if I ever let the subject change from what I want.

"I didn't come from the nicest family okay? When someone told me they wanted to talk usually there was a backhand to go with it, that isn't even mentioning if I talked back." Then entire time he was talking he was looking directly at a crack in the wall. _Just like his brother. _

"Wally isn't your old family. You live with Bruce and Alfred now; I doubt they hit you there. Dick always talked about the manor as a sanctuary of sorts; I couldn't imagine it ever being a bad place."

"The behavior is learned, it will stay with me for years or maybe forever. I can't help but be afraid, even when I know I am safe." That made some sense to me, but not much. Still that didn't explain his heavy reaction to Dick's condition. I understand that he is worried about his now little brother but the amount of emotion that was coming off of him did not add up to the situation.

"That explains your reaction toward Wally but that doesn't explain how you are handling Dick. I am not trying to sound insensitive but it isn't like he is dead." I know I sounded heartless, but I really just wanted to understand.

"I don't want to be the oldest." Tim said.

"I don't follow."

"Dick has always been there for me, even before I became Robin. He was one of the few positive constants in my life; the very idea of me losing that protector scares me. Not to mention that I basically owe him my life times ten because of all the times he has saved me. Now I am alone and I have to protect myself, my city, and a new little brother that used to do all of that for me." Tim paused and took a deep breath. "I guess I am just cracking under the pressure. It is already hard enough to juggle being the ward of Bruce Wayne and Robin, but then you add the fact that Dick has already done that and set the bar so high. I struggle just to reach the things that he has done, and now I am expected to take care of him! I can't do that! I can barely take care of myself."

"Tim just calm down okay. Dick may be thirteen at the moment but his mental state is till nineteen so it isn't like he can't still be there for you. And don't be so hard on yourself, you are an excellent Robin and by what Dick has told me you are an even more excellent little brother." Tim finally turned to look at me, his eyes showed worry and fear but not the same fear he had with Wally. With Wally it looked more a like a state of controlled panic, but here his eyes just showed plain discomfort for the lack of control.

"He really said I was an excellent little brother?" Tim asked.

"He praises you constantly. Tim your brother loves you and him being thirteen isn't going to change that. I promise." It seemed I had reassured him enough because this time when he looked at me I didn't see fear in his eyes, he was calm.

"Thanks Connor, it means a lot." I put my hand on his shoulder and he exhaled a breath that I bet he didn't even know he had been holding. His body relaxed and I could tell that for the first time since he walked into the Mountain that he was content. "I'm sorry I was such a brat. Bruce and Dick typically call me out on it."

"It's okay; you weren't being rude to me." I said.

"I guess I should go apologize to Wally and Artemis. God I can't believe I acted that way in front of everyone!" Tim's hands shot up and covered his face.

"I'm sure no one blames you for it." I tried my best to sound assuring but I really couldn't make any guarantees, after all there was a certain judgmental half fish half boy that could be kind of a jerk to anyone without green skin.

"Yeah but Cassie saw." Tim almost immediately shut up and his face turned red. Apparently he had told me something that he didn't want to be heard.

"Do you like Cass or something?" Tim shook his head no and then got up and walked to the door.

"We should go see the others now. I have to apologize for my outburst." With that Tim walked out the door and down the hall. I was about to follow him when I noticed that there was something on the bed that Tim looked to be clutching the entire time. Sitting right next to the pillow was a small stuffed elephant. It was faded and worn which meant it had to have been old. I picked up the stuffed animal and sharpie onto the tag was the name 'Peanut' and below it 'Richard Grayson'. I smiled and put the elephant down and walked to the living area to join the others.

_Connor?_

_Yeah Megan? Is Dick awake?_

_No not yet. I was just wondering where you were since Tim is here with us and you aren't. _

_I'm on my way. I was just distracted for a moment._

When I rounded the corner I saw Tim approaching Wally and Artemis with an embarrassed look on his face. "Listen guys I am really sorry for my behavior. I had no excuse to act that way." Wally just smiled and gave Tim a hug. Wally was always good at forgiveness, and it always seemed to end with him giving out a hug that would make the person who was sorry almost automatically feel better.

"It is cool kid we understand why you blew your top." Wally pulled back so that both of them could look at each other face to face, "And I am sorry that I yelled at you like that back there. I am supposed to be the adult and I should have never spoken to you like that."

"I deserved it." Tim said looking at him with a small smile.

"That doesn't make it right." Tim smiled bigger this time and he returned Wally's earlier hug.

At least for now everything was alright. No one was yelling or crying and we were functioning just fine. The only thing that we needed to be concerned about was the smaller version of our leader that was currently sleeping soundly in the medical bay. For right now the team was at peace with one another and I could finally breathe a little easier.

_You did a good job Connor._

_Thanks but I mostly sat and let him talk. All he needed to do was vent a little._

_Yeah but you are the one who saw that. You fixed it. I bet Dick would be proud. _

_Right now I just want Dick to be safe. Too many things could go wrong if certain people find out about his current state. We are going to have to be on high alert._

_Let's just take things one step at a time and wait to see what the League has to say._

_Did they make contact yet?_

_Flash, Green Arrow, and the others will be coming by tomorrow to run some tests. Zatanna and will be there as well to see what they can do with their magic. _

_Well let's just hope they can do something. I don't think Dick will be able to stay out of the action for long thirteen or not. _

"Hey guys." I turned to see Karen running down the hallway. "Nightwing is waking up. Mal is with him."

**A/N: Well here it the chapter. I hope that it was good enough for you guys. Please tell me what you want to see coming. I have a good idea but I also want to know what you think. **

**Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I realize that I never stated that I don't own Young Justice. If it wasn't obvious enough I don't own Young Justice. **

**Nightwing POV**

There is an annoying beeping sound that is not leaving my ears, just a constant high pitched noise that echoes in what I assume to be a small cubical of the medical bay. I don't really want to open my eyes due to the knowledge that there will be an overwhelmingly amount of light that will blind me momentarily, but I know that I have to give a sign that I am waking up to whomever is watching over me. I decide to moan a little and slowly move my arms. All of the sudden I hear, "Karen go tell the others that Nightwing is waking up, I will stay here and watch him." Then there are footsteps that seem to be racing out of the room once the automatic doors open.

I bring my hand up to cover my eyes as I slowly began to open them. The best way to adjust to the brightness, I have learned, is to slowly but surely let the light peak through my fingers. By the time that I finally have uncovered all of my eyes I hear a roar of footfalls running toward my new room. I look over to Mal confused but he answers me by saying, "You put all of us through quite a scare, they just want to make sure that you are okay."

"I don't understand, I thought that the team was informed that I am fine and that I only need rest to recover from injuries." I said. I know that it is odd the situation that I am in but I didn't think anyone would take it as life threatening.

"Well try explaining that to a hyperactive speedster and his over protective archer girlfriend." Mal laughed a little at what he thought was some kind of joke.

"Wait you guys told Wally and Artemis? No! Now I will never be left alone!" I let my hands hit my face and then I heard another laugh in the background. Over the years I have memorized the sound of the laugh and immediately pegged it to belong to Wally West.

"Did you really think that you were going to get away with not telling us what happened man?" I turned to see Wally standing in the doorway with his hand resting on Artemis' shoulder. He had a smirk on his face that was not shared with his girlfriend. One look at Arty told me that she was all business and was about to go into 'Big Sister' mode.

"How are you feeling?" She asked me.

"Like I just got hit a by a bus, but that is just an average feeling for me, so I guess pretty good." I heard someone in the background laugh; it was probably Garth by the sound of it.

"I am being serious. "

"I can tell. I am telling you the truth; I don't feel physically any worse than I do after any other encounter with the light. I mean by now my body is used to a certain threshold of pain and my experience on the last mission didn't overdue it for me. Even now in my condition I don't feel uncomfortable with the amount of discomfort that I have." I said with a slight smile on my face.

"Ummm hermano that didn't make any sense." Blue Beetle said.

"Sure it does, the oxymoron at the end was just there to provide a little humor to the situation." After the conversation with Connor I realized that the only way for me not to be seen as emotionally compromised, was to not allow myself to become emotionally compromised. Therefore I took a page out of my old self's book and decided that I would try my hardest to find the humor in situations rather than dwell on negatives.

"Who is this guy and what did he do with our leader?" Blue asked. I allowed myself to snicker at his comment which caused his face to contort weirdly in reaction to me. "Seriously who is this guy? Why are you so happy?"

"Because I'm not dead, which could have been a real possibility." Artemis let out a sigh and Wally rolled his eyes at me. "Will you two stop I am fine!"

"Dude you are thirteen! How exactly is that fine?" Wally said walking up and sitting down next to my bed. I could tell he was going for a guilt trip because he was looking at me straight in the eyes, and I could detect what was beginning to be a speedster pout.

"I am very aware of my situation man, so calm down." The last thing I needed was for Wally to start babying me in front of my team. If I was going to maintain my status then I cannot afford for my 'Big Bro' to ruin my image. "Anyway it isn't like I haven't been a thirteen year old superhero before, so if anything I shouldn't be treated differently because I have already done it before."

"How do you know that stupid spell didn't affect you in more ways than one? How do you know for sure that you can still do all of the stunts you could do as a kid?" Okay now Wally was challenging me whether he knew it or not. Fine if he wanted to test that theory then I would be more than happy to try it out for him.

I quickly removed the IV in my arm and jumped on the wall scaling it to the ceiling. Artemis was calling for me to get down but I had a point to prove, and I wasn't going to stop until the others knew that I could handle myself even if I was technically a child again. I decided it would be fun to go out to the rec room and start to climb to the top of the cave. Everyone was running behind and following me.

_Dick what are you doing? You could get hurt, please come down._

_Sorry Miss M I have something to prove. I can't let this team think that I am unable to do my job. _

_We don't think that._

_Really because if you really didn't then you wouldn't be worried about me right now. How many times have you seen me do this? And how many times have I been hurt? _

_Dick…_

_No Megan I am okay and you guys need to understand that. _

I ended my little show by doing flips from side to side of the mountain until I finally reached the bottom. When I was about to reach the ground I landed on my hands and then pushed off into a flip that landed on Connor's shoulders. He only looked up with a small smile on his face that I returned.

"Of all the unbelievably stupid stunts that you have pulled this one has to take the cake! I cannot believe that you would do something like that! Do you know how much you scared us? Do you know how worried we were when you were up there flipping around without something to catch you? I swear sometimes you make me reconsider ever leaving you alone!" Now that last one hurt. I mean I knew that Arty would freak on me, but not like that. I know that she is very protective of me but I didn't think that she would throw her and Wally leaving in my face.

"Gee thanks for the trust." I jabbed. "It's not like I am an acrobat or anything."

"She just doesn't want to see you hurt man." Wally stepped in, I just shot him a glare telling him not to mess with me.

"Well maybe if you guys would stop being so insanely over protective then you would see that I am just fine. I have been doing this for nine years plus and yet you still don't trust me. What do I have to do to prove to you that I can handle it?" I lifted myself and flipped off of Connor and then got right in Wally's face. "Why can you not just except that I don't need your help right now?"

"Is it so wrong that I want to make sure that you are okay after you got struck by magic lightning?" Wally said.

"Yeah it is wrong when you are needlessly coddling me. You know I can take care of myself, you have witnessed it firsthand." I have known Wally for years and he should know by now that I don't need to be looked after.

"It is either me or Batman, take your pick." Oh no he was not threatening me.

"You wouldn't." I said.

"Bats told me to call him if anything happened to you because he knows that you are too bullheaded to report anything to him." Connor put his hand on my shoulder as a way to restrain me. "Just try me right now Nightwing, because I am more than willing to rat you out to daddy."

"I hate you."

"I love you too baby bro."

"Don't call me that!" Connor had to pull me back.

"Calm down Boy Wonder." Great now Arty was involved in the 'let's make fun of all of my old nicknames' game. "Don't think we won't let you go after the witch boy just because you are in this state. We know that Batman or no Batman you are going after him. We just want you to do it with our help."

"And supervision." I huffed.

"Why is that so bad?" Megan asked.

"Seriously? How would you feel if you have been treated like an adult almost you're entire life and then all of the sudden you are being treated like a little kid? I mean I expected this from the League but not you guys. I thought my friends would realize that even at thirteen I had some creditability and shouldn't be looked down upon." I looked straight at Wally. "Apparently I was wrong." I turned and began to leave the room. I saw Tim turn and follow behind me. I could hear another set of footsteps but I did not bother to turn around and see who it was. I walked into my room and allowed my body to collapse onto the bed. Whether I wanted to admit it or not I knew that I was still tired from all of the events that happened, and the emotional turn that I just took was not helping my exhaustion.

"You should sleep." So it had been Connor that came with us.

"Superboy is right you still need rest." Tim said as he walked over to the bed.

"Tell you what I will get some sleep** if **you agree to not say anything to Wally, Arty, or the team when I make my next move." Tim nodded and smiled at me. I knew that he already deduced that I would be going after that stupid cat loving witch boy without the supervision of my babysitters.

"Bats will not be happy when he finds out." Tim said.

"Yeah well when he finds out I expect to be my normal age again, so there is not much he can do to me. I mean he could cut me off but I have a job so it isn't like I couldn't live off myself." Tim frowned. "He wouldn't do that Tim it is okay. He will probably just lecture me for like an hour and a half about neglecting myself and putting myself in unnecessary danger."

"I didn't think Bats could talk that long." Connor said with a smirk. I laughed a little and then started to make my way under the covers.

"Dick you can't do this by yourself. You will need some back up." Tim said curling up into the bed with me.

"Is that code for you want to come along?" I asked and he nodded. "Well I would be a hypocrite if I told you that you are too young." He smiled and me and then closed his eyes for sleep too. "I assume you will be joining us Connor."

"Like I would let you have all the fun." Connor smirked.

"Then it is settled, we leave tonight."

**A/N: Yay a plot is starting to develop! Tell me what you think and what you want to see in the next few chapters!**


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